Tennis is a sport that has become ever more popular throughout the world. This is especially true with the many tournaments that are televised featuring world class players peaking the interest of new and old players worldwide. Additionally tennis is in the realm of “carry over” sports which means that both children and adults may play the game and once learned as a child, the sport can carry over to their adulthood for exercise and entertainment.
The proper tennis racket swing is a controlled kinetic chain of events starting with the feet pushing down on the ground and a transfer of energy through the legs, hips, swinging arm, racket, and ball in that respective order. The tennis racket is essentially an extension of the hitting arm, where both of them must work as one unit. This proper swing technique engages the largest muscles in the body for power as well as a minimal amount of swing variance to ensure control.
However, this proper swing technique requires a greater amount of energy to execute than a variety of improper and less accurate techniques. Therefore, the majority of beginner to intermediate tennis players will default to using these lower energy improper swings during play. It is extremely challenging to instruct players to use the proper swing technique when they can use less energy to hit the ball using an improper swing. Without constant guidance and instruction, most tennis players will not develop the proper swing technique as long as the lower energy improper swing is available.
Improper swing techniques usually all stem from using the wrist to generate power. When this occurs, the tennis racket and the hitting arm do not work together as a unit anymore. By using the wrist the player does not have to move his legs and body as much and he can still make contact with the ball. Because the wrist has such a wide range of motion, it does not even come close to providing the level of consistency needed to advance a player past the intermediate level. Further, the wrist alone can never provide the level of power that is generated by the proper swing technique.
Further, it is difficult for instructors to verbally instruct players to visualize and execute the proper swinging technique. This is generally because the player is usually focused on hitting a ball over the net rather than listening to the spoken words of the instructor. The player by default will execute his swing using the wrist. Even players who are attempting to improve will tend to focus too much on the proper swinging technique and thereby become bogged down in thought and have trouble even making contact with the ball.
As such, there is a pressing need for a device and method which a player may employ himself that will ensure the proper swinging technique without a need for concurrent verbal instructions. Such a device will help players maintain the position of their hands relative to the forearm, thereby helping eliminate the use of their wrists to generate power. Such a device will inherently eliminate the player's reliance on the improper swing technique which naturally leaves the proper swing technique as the only option available. Further, such a device should allow the player to focus on hitting the ball rather than trying to follow instructions. Finally, such a device should allow the user to create muscle memory during practice sessions over time so that the player will eventually use the proper swing technique once the device is removed.
Additionally, such a device should be easily adjustable to different racket sizes and provide visual means to ascertain the angle of the racket axis relative to the forearm so that a player may determine the best angle for him and be able to repeat positioning of his racket during subsequent sessions by employing the visual cue.
Still further, in a particularly favored mode of the device, it may be employed with an arm engageable cuff which provides an elongated pocket for translatable engagement of the device to the user's arm. The cuff is reversible on the arm and thus provides two different axial pocket positions thereby providing a translatable mount for the device either above the hand of the user, or below it.
With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components or steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus and methods of the invention are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other devices, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the objects and claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further objectives of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.